Just as we were getting super excited about Griffin, they suffered their worst defeat of LCK 2018 Summer, going 0-2 against Afreeca Freecs.

Mind you, it wasn’t just us who were aboard the Griffin hype train. Even the organization knows just how well the entire team is performing after granting each of the individual players 10 million Korean Won after their astonishing performance during the first half of LCK 2018 Summer.

But, just when it all seemed that LCK 2018 Summer was theirs to lose, they went on to suffer their worst defeat of the split yet.

Below are our thoughts and analysis on what went down during the Griffin vs Afreeca Freecs matchup.

Griffin Went With a Gold Funneling Composition

We mentioned in a previous article that gold funneling didn’t seem too OP, and didn’t deserve to be nerfed. This match backs us up hundredfold because the gold funnel strategy didn’t work out whatsoever for Griffin. In fact, we truly think that a regular draft would have greatly improved their chances at victory during this match.

A certain factor to keep in mind is that Afreeca Freecs are well versed in the gold funneling strategy. Griffin showed that they were highly confident using the strategy against them. In addition to this, the comp they used for their funneling was slightly unorthodox. We saw a Lucian on Viper, who was the carry receiving all the gold. Tarzan couldn’t pick a DPS champion due to this.

There wasn’t much engage on the side of Griffin either. Their wave clear during both matches was short range and minimal. Afreeca, on the other hand, had lots of long range poke and wave clear. They had incredible all-in potential, and tons of lane priority. All this added up and resulted in an inevitable and unexpected defeat for Griffin.

Griffin Resorted to Repeating Strategies

Second time’s a charm? Not for Griffin, unfortunately. They went a similar composition and playstyle which Afreeca Freecs had seamlessly breezed through during the previous match. Viper was made to be the primary and only source of damage again. As good of a player as Viper is, he was unable to make much of an impact during both games.

One of the best things about funnel comps is that the player being funneled gets plenty of kills in the process. Viper, however, kept farming in the background while Afreeca made extremely aggressive plays all across the map. Afreeca Freecs were more confident during this game, having faced it only a couple of minutes ago. They repeatedly dove Griffin under turrets, and took what they wanted by force. During all this time, Viper was unable to dish out the necessary damage his team required.

Griffin Have Only Played Against Each Team Once

While Griffin have blown up LCK 2018 Summer, they’re a relatively new team. They have much to learn about how things work around the region. Most of their competitors have been playing locally and internationally for years. Griffin, on the other hand, have played in the LCK for half a split. During this time, they’ve only managed to face each team once.

All those teams have been watching Griffin intently, knowing how big of a threat they’ve become. While Griffin are looking at the entirety of the LCK as their opponents, a lot of teams are concentrating solely on them since they’re the powerhouse of the region right now.

It’s not too far-fetched to think that teams in the LCK have their strategies ready to face off against this super team for the rest of LCK 2018 Summer.

What Does This All Mean for Griffin?

This team is young with much to learn and space to improve – Image via yong woo ‘kenzi’ kim Flickr

In the words of Papasmithy, it’s much early to say. It’s a single loss, which doesn’t mean anything by itself.

To draw a conclusion, we’ll have to observe this team for the rest of the week, and see for ourselves whether this defeat was just a coincidence, or something more. As for the fans, they should have no reason to be disappointed just yet. This team is still the best performing team in Korea, and a loss here and there every now and then won’t hurt their chances of making it to Worlds.

If nothing else, every loss Griffin suffers should only help them improve their weakness, which is a scary thought for a team that’s already so good.

What do you think about Griffin’s second loss of LCK 2018 Summer? Do you think it’s important, or something to sweep under the rug and move on? Let us know in the comments below!

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